Handling  Salesmen 
by  Letter 

*8? 


By  J.  C.  ASPLEY 

Editor  “Sales  Management  Magazine,  ” Author 
Modem  Sales  Management  Practices' ’ 

4 ‘How  to  Sell  Quality , ’ ’ etc. 


The  Dartnell  Corporation 

NEW  YORK  CHICAGO  LONDON 


UlHYERSlTYOFILUIBSL^m 

FEB  17  1923 


1922 

Copyright  in  the  United  States , Canada  and  Great  Britain 
THE  DARTNELL  CORPORATION 
Ravenswood  and  Leland  Avenues,  Chicago,  111. 


Printed  by  The  Dartnell  Press 


A s»  L 7 k a 


REMOT,r  c-r^°AGE 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I — The  Knack  of  Handling  Men  by  Letter  . . 7 

II — Making  Men  Like  You 9 

- 

III —  The  Self-Satisfied  Salesman 11 

IV —  The  Salesman  Who  Thinks  He  Knows  Better  13 

V — The  Man  Who  Won't  Send  in  Reports  ...  15 

VI — The  Salesman  Who  Dissipates  His  Time  . . 17 

VII — The  Man  Who  Is  Just  Plain  Lazy  ....  19 

VIII — When  a Salesman  Plays  in  Hard  Luck  . . . 21 

IX — The  Salesman  Whose  Account  Is  Over-Drawn  23 

X — The  Extravagant  Salesman  25 

XI — He  Puts  the  Customer's  Interests  First  . . 27 

XII — The  Easily  Discouraged  Salesman  ....  29 

XIII — The  Salesman  Who  Nests  on  China  Eggs  . . 31 


XIV— Too  Big  To  Sell  Small  Orders 33 

XV— The  Big  “I"  Salesman 34 


XVI — The  Discontented  Salesman 35 

XVII — The  Salesman  Who  Thinks  He  Is  Underpaid  . 37 
XVIII — Carelessness  in  Handling  Correspondence  . . 39 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
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https://archive.org/details/handlingsalesmenOOaspl 


X 


FOREWORD 

rpHE  material  embodied  in  this  treatise  was  originally 
i published  as  one  of  a series  of  special  bulletins  in- 
cluded in  Volume  Four  of  Dartnell  Sales  Manager's 
Reference  Books  for  1922. 

In  presenting  these  suggestions  we  wish  to  make  it  clear 
that  we  do  not  for  a moment  imagine  that  it  is  possible  to 
formulate  any  set  of  rules  or  code  of  practices  which  will 
reduce  the  handling  of  men  to  the  basis  of  a problem  in 
arithmetic.  We  know  only  too  well,  that  no  two  salesmen 
are  temperamentally  alike — that  even  the  same  man  requires 
entirely  different  handling  under  certain  conditions  than  he 
would  under  other  conditions. 

But  we  do  believe  that  much  can  be  learned  from  study- 
ing the  methods  of  other  successful  sales  managers.  That  is 
what  this  treatise  endeavors  to  do.  It  brings  to  you  in  a 
few  pages  experience  in  handling  salesmen  that  has  cost 
other  sales  managers  much  time  and  money  to  acquire. 

Acknowledgement  is  gratefully  made  to  the  1,800  sales 
executives  who  participate  in  the  Dartnell  Monthly  Sales 
Service  for  their  generous  contributions  to  this  material. 


r 5] 


TEN  “DON’TS”  WHEN 
WRITING  SALESMEN 

1 Don't  pick  on  them.  If  you  must  write  un- 
1 pleasantly  put  it  all  into  one  letter. 

9 Try  to  make  the  letter  that  your  men  will 
^ read  Monday  morning-  as  cheery  and  help- 
ful as  possible.  Give  them  a running  start 
for  a big  week. 

3 Don't  preach  at  your  men.  Teach  as  though 
you  taught  not. 

4 Don't  write  unnecessary  letters  about  trivial 
things  and  ask  salesmen  to  answer  them. 

C Don't  be  forever  talking  about  what  some 
^ other  salesman  did  or  is  doing.  It's  just  like 
^alklng^bouTpies  mother  used  to  make. 

/:  Insist  that  every  letter  going  to  salesmen 
^ should  pass  over  your  desk.  Otherwise  some 
sour  bookkeeper  will  send  a man  a letter 
which  will  put  him  off  his  feed  for  a week. 

n Don't  be  forever  telling  your  boys  what  you 
/ used  to  do  when  you  were  a salesman. 
They  don’t  give  a damn. 

o Praise  for  doing  something  well  is  usually 
° more  effective  than  bawling  a man  out  for 
doing  something  wrong.  This  is  especially 
true  in  correcting  faults. 

O Don't  write  white  blooded  letters  to  red 
' blooded  salesmen.  Put  some  pep  and  vine- 
gar in  them.  Write  to  a man  as  though  he 
sat  across  from  you  at  lunch. 

1 A And  whatever  else  you  do  don't  write  when 
1 u you  are  mad.  Madness  is  a mild  form  of 
insanity.  If  you  write  at  white  heat  you 
will  surely  regret  it.  Give  your  anger  a 
chance  to  cool. 


[6] 


I—The  Knack  of  Handling 
Salesmen  by  Letter 

IT  is  quite  usual  when  sales  managers  get  together  for 
them  to  talk  about  “handling”  this  or  that  man.  While  it 
is  true  that  salesmen  must  be  “handled”  in  one  sense,  it 
is  also  true  that  there  is  nothing  which  will  wreck  a sales 
force  quicker  than  a sales  manager  who  prides  himself  on 
his  cleverness  in  handling  and  using  men  as  mere  pawns  in 
the  bigger  game  of  getting  the  order. 

I The  first  rule  in  successfully  handling  men  might  well  be 
“don t handle  them.”  Forget  that  you  are  their  task  master 
and  think  of  them  as  brothers  or  sons,  according  to  your 
personality.  If  you  are  a sales  manager  of  the  younger  school 
don’t  make  the  fatal  mistake  of  setting  yourself  up  on  a 
pedestal  and  talking  down  to  your  men.  Rather  assume  that 
your  salesmen  are  partners  in  an  undertaking  of  mutual 
profit.  Make  your  appeal  to  the  team  instinct,  the  same  in- 
stinct that  makes  a winning  football  or  baseball  team,  the 
willingness  to  sacrifice  personal  glory  for  the  good  of  the 
cause. 

If  you  are  older  than  your  men,  and  have  a longer  experi- 
ence back  of  you,  then  your  attitude  should  be  more  fatherly. 
You  are  entitled  to  respect,  just  as  a head  of  a family  is 
entitled  to  respect,  and  you  should  assume  that  you  are 
entitled  to  it.  The  very  fact  that  you  show  in  your  letters 
that  you  expect  respect  will  automatically  assure  you  of  it, 
provided  you  maintain  your  prestige  and  do  not  become  too 
familiar.  Indeed,  sales  managers  both  young  and  old,  will 
find  it  much  more  satisfactory  to  maintain  a slight  reserve 
in  their  correspondence  with  salesmen. . The  old  saying  that 
“familiarity  breeds  contempt”  is  only  too  true.  There  are 


[7] 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 


some  salesmen  with  whom  you  can  become  very  intimate  and 
who  will  be  just  as  good,  even  better  salesmen.  But  these  few 
are  the  exceptions,  and  unless  you  are  very  sure  of  your  man 
it  is  better  to  maintain  a certain  dignity  in  your  letters  to 
him  which  will  serve  as  a barrier  against  the  man  thinking: 
“Well,  the  boss  and  I are  as  thick  as  pea  soup.  I can  fix  it  with 
him  easily  enough.” 

For  the  same  reason  it  is  not  always  well  in  writing  sales- 
men to  express  yourself  in  such  a way  that  the  salesman  will 
get  the  impression  you  are  on  the  defensive.  This  does  not 
mean  that  a sales  manager  can  afford  to  be  haughty  and 
over-bearing  in  his  correspondence,  but  there  is  a tendency 
among  certain  sales  managers  to  be  constantly  explaining 
and  reasoning  with  their  men.  A little  of  this  will  do  no  harm, 
but  over-done  it  has  a bad  effect  on  morale. 


[8] 


II— Making  Men  Like  You 

THERE  are  four  things  that  enter  into  the  successful 
managing  of  a sales  force  outside  of  the  ability  that 
comes  from  experience.  The  first  and  most  important 
of  these  is  what  the  men  call  “getting  a square  deal.”  Make 
your  men  understand  thoroughly  that  you  play  no  favorites. 
Conduct  yourself  so  that  they  will  think  of  you  as  being 
absolutely  fair  and  impartial,  ever  willing  to  put  your  per- 
sonal interests  aside  for  theirs.  Your  letters  to  your  men 
must  reflect  such  a willingness. 

Secondly,  don't  try  to  play  the  role  of  the  school  teacher. 
It  is  only  too  true  that  sales  managing  is  largely  sales  educat- 
ing, but  men  react  against  having  knowledge  of  any  kind 
crammed  down  their  throats.  There  are  times  when  such  a 
course  is  necessary,  but  as  a general  rule  all  your  teachings 
must  be  as  though  you  taught  not,  and  your  men  should  be 
told  things  unknown  as  though  they  were  things  forgot,  if  we 
may  paraphrase  an  exceptionally  trite  bit  of  philosophy. 

One  successful  sales  manager,  a man  who  is  now  at  the 
head  of  a great  business  enterprise  of  his  own,  purposely 
used  loose  English  in  letters  to  salesmen  for  fear  they  might 
get  the  impression  he  thought  himself  better  than  they.  The 
same  sales  manager  used  to  get  out  a paper  called  “The 
Gimlet,”  using  the  pen  name  “Mike  Kinney,  Teamster.”  The 
reason  he  let  Mike  do  the  talking  was  because  he  felt  that 
people  liked  to  be  talked  up  to,  whereas  they  resented  being 
talked  down  to.  “Mike,”  the  teamster,  could  talk  up  to  the 
business  men  who  read  “The  Gimlet,”  but  Saunders  Norvell, 
president  of  the  Norvell-Shapleigh  Hardware  Company, 
could  not  very  well  come  out  of  his  “character”  to  do  so. 

There  are  sales  managers  who  make  the  mistake  of  writ- 
ing too  many  trivial  letters  to  their  men.  They  write  on  the 


[9] 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 


least  provocation,  and  invariably  end  up  with  some  such 
expression  as:  “I  feel  sure  that  if  you  will  call  on  Mr.  Jones, 
you  can  get  a nice  order.”  Or,  “Mr.  Jones  is  as  good  as  sold, 
drop  in  on  him  when  you  are  in  Podunk  and  get  his  order.” 
It  is  most  likely  the  sales  manager  wrote  this  thoughtlessly, 
without  considering  the  effect  it  would  have  on  the  salesman. 
But  such  letters  tend  to  peeve  a salesman.  Leave  some 
credit  for  him.  It  is  often  better  to  dash  off  a few  penciled 
lines  on  a piece  of  scratch  paper,  or  to  make  some  original 
notes  on  the  original  inquiry.  Even  the  best  of  things  can  be 
over-done.  This  is  especially  true  in  writing  routine  letters 
to  salesmen. 

The  fourth  and  last  rule  for  making  men  like  you  is  the 
knack  of  writing  a human,  friendly,  man-to-man  letter.  It  is 
strange,  but  true,  that  so  many  sales  managers  who  are 
human  dynamos  when  it  comes  to  personal  selling  write  the 
most  inhuman  letters.  The  letters  don’t  reflect  personality 
any  more  than  a dog’s  bark  sounds  like  a dove’s  cooing.  They 
are  cold,  stilted  and  jerky.  They  are  filled  with  stereotyped, 
cut-and-dried  expressions,  robbing  them  of  all  individuality, 
and  ruining  them  so  far  as  a friendship  making  proposition 
is  concerned.  One  of  the  rarest  gifts  that  a man  can  have  in 
business,  and  fortunately  it  is  a gift  that  can  be  developed 
with  practice,  is  the  ability  to  put  yourself  into  an  envelope 
and  seal  the  flap  after  you.  This  trait  above  all  others  is  the 
trait  that  draws  men  to  you,  and  causes  them  to  feel  just  a 
little  more  kindly  toward  you  every  time  they  get  your 
letters.  It  is  just  such  letters  that  men  like  to  get  and  truly 
appreciate.  They  are  the  kind  of  letters  that  lay  the  founda- 
tion upon  which  all  depends  when  it  comes  to  handling 
salesmen  by  letter  . 


[10] 


Ill— The  Self-Satisfied  Salesman 

A FTER  a man  has  reached  a point  where  he  begins  to 
think  that  he  is  one  of  the  fixtures  in  the  organization. 
^ ^ and  feels  that  he  is  a man  over  whom  the  company 
would  think  a long  time  before  replacing,  his  effectiveness  be- 
gins to  fade.  He  makes  fewer  calls.  He  falls  into  the  habit  of 
“sizing  up”  prospects.  He  knows,  without  inquiring,  why  this 
or  that  concern  would  not  be  interested.  In  fact  he  only 
utilizes  about  one-half,  probably  not  even  half,  of  his  poten- 
tial business-getting  ability.  It  is  a nice  problem  of  sales 
management  to  develop  the  other  fifty  per  cent  of  his  poten- 
tial ability  to  sell  so  that  he  will  be  producing  at  maximum 
capacity,  both  for  himself  and  for  the  house. 

There  are  numerous  ways,  of  course,  for  handling  this 
type  of  salesmen.  The  most  common  way  is  to  “tell  him  a few 
things.”  Quite  often  that  in  itself  is  effective,  but  too  often  it 
breaks  down  a man’s  morale,  and  in  some  cases  even  ruins 
him.  Then,  too,  it  is  not  a lasting  cure.  For  a month  or  two 
perhaps  the  salesman  will  hit  on  six  cylinders,  then  he  will 
drop  back  to  three  again.  A better  plan  is  to  use  indirect 
illustrations.  Salesmen  become  self-satisfied  from  thinking 
too  much  about  past  performances.  The  more  they  are 
allowed  to  think  about  what  they  have  done  in  the  past,  the 
less  they  will  think  about  what  they  are  going  to  do  tomor- 
row. So  your  task  is  to  change  a man’s  direction  of  thought. 
Instead  of  allowing  him  to  think  backwards  get  him  to  think 
forwards.  Instead  of  letting  him  dwell  on  the  business  he 
is  getting,  keep  continually  reminding  him  about  the  business 
he  should  have  but  is  not  getting. 

One  sales  manager  had  a salesman  who  thought  he  was 
about  the  slickest  article  that  ever  carried  a sample  case. 
What  he  didn’t  know  about  selling  wasn’t  worth  knowing.  He 


[ii] 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 


was  a typical  male.  Yet,  all  in  all  it  wasn't  hurtful  that  he 
should  have  a touch  of  ego,  for  a man  without  self-confidence 
is  a poor  type  of  salesman,  but  too  much  is  worse  than  none 
at  all.  The  sales  manager  solved  the  problem  by  sending  just 
enough  letters  to  prospects  in  the  salesman's  territory  to 
keep  a flow  of  inquiries  coming  in.  These  inquiries  he  would 
forward  to  the  salesman,  and  insist  that  the  salesman  f ollow 
them  up  and  give  him  a full  report.  This  was  all  in  addition 
to  calling  on  the  regular  trade.  In  a month  or  two  the  sales 
manager  began  to  notice  that  the  salesman  was  getting  out 
and  hitting  the  ball  harder  than  he  used  to.  Most  likely  he 
had  come  to  realize  that  he  was  not  covering  his  territory 
very  thoroughly,  and  he  had  sense  enough  to  know  that  if  he 
did  not,  with  inquiries  coming  in  at  the  rate  they  were/  either 
one  of  two  things  would  happen  — the  territory  would  be 
divided  with  another  salesman  or  he  would  be  out  looking  for 
another  job. 


IV— The  Salesman  Who  Thinks 
He  Knows  Better 


HIS  type  is  epidemic  in  long  established  sales  organi- 


zations. A newly  appointed  sales  manager  usually 


inherits  a few  that  cause  him  no  little  anxiety  before 
he  finally  gets  them  smoothed  out.  As  a rule  they  are  men 
who  are  good  producers  and  whom  it  would  not  be  wise  to 
discharge.  It  is  largely  a matter  of  demonstrating  to  sales- 
men of  this  type  that  your  way  is  the  best  way.  Whenever 
possible  go  out  into  their  territory  with  them  and  sell  circles 
around  them.  Particularly  take  prospects  which  they  have 
turned  in  as  being  no  good,  and  sell  them.  Such  tactics 
seldom  fail  of  results. 

If  you  cannot  do  this  the  next  best  thing  is  to  take  some 
young  salesman  who  has  had  much  less  experience,  perhaps, 
than  the  “old  timers”  and  carefully  coach  him.  Then 
help  this  newcomer  in  the  organization  to  stage  a special 
drive  that  will  produce  a lot  of  immediate  business.  From  the 
showing  which  the  young  man  will  naturally  make  write  a 
general  letter — it  is  well  not  to  make  it  too  personal  for  fear 
of  arousing  the  old  timer’s  animosity  — along  the  lines  of 
“what  this  youngster  has  done  you  can  double.”  If  the  old 
timer  has  any  red  blood  whatever  in  his  veins  this  method 
of  treatment  will  convince  him  that  his  way  wasn’t  nearly  as 
good  as  he  thought  it  was,  and  to  save  his  laurels  he  will  have 
to  get  out  and  fight  for  business.  In  doing  so  he  will  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously  use  the  tactics  which  proved  effec- 
tive for  the  younger  man,  but  he  will  change  them  slightly  to 
fit  his  personality.  More  than  likely  he  will  close  considerable 
business.  If  he  does,  be  careful  how  you  write  him.  If  you 
allow  an  “I-told-you-so”  tone  to  creep  into  your  letter  the 
effect  of  your  work  will  be  lost.  To  hold  your  gain  you  must 


[13] 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 

let  your  man  think  it  was  his  own  clever  salesmanship  and 
sales  generalship  that  turned  the  trick,  and  he  will  not  only 
continue  to  use  the  plan  (he  thinks  it  is  his  own  baby)  but 
will  think  the  more  of  you  because  you  are  smart  enough  to 
realize  what  a wonder  he  is  as  a salesman. 

You  often  hear  sales  managers  complain  that  such-and- 
such  a salesman  is  hard  to  “handle”  because  his  head  is  too 
big  for  his  hat,  etc.  No  man  is  hard  to  handle  if  you  will  only 
study  him  thoughtfully.  Egotistical  people  are  the  easiest  of 
all  to  handle  if  you  use  their  egotism  as  a lever.  The  trouble 
comes  when  you  try  to  handle  the  egotist  the  same  as  you 
would  the  chap  who  thinks  everything  you  do  or  say  is  100 
per  cent.  That  is  as  bad  as  taking  mange  cure  for  a cold. 


I 14  l 


V— The  Man  Who  Won’t  Send 
in  Reports 

IT  is  the  biggest  mistake  in  the  world  to  keep  picking  on  a 
salesman  because  he  won’t  report  his  calls.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  good  salesmen  usually  make  poor  office 
clerks.  The  average  salesman  is  just  about  as  enthusiastic 
about  making  out  reports  as  you  would  be  about  punching  a 
time  clock.  In  fact  he  regards  reports  as  a sort  of  portable 
time  clock. 

As  a matter  of  fact  reports  are  the  very  best  advertising 
device  at  a salesman’s  disposal.  There  are  innumerable  illus- 
trations available  of  where  a salesman  by  means  of  his  daily 
report  has  been  able  to  correct  his  shortcomings  and  more 
fully  capitalize  his  strong  points.  No  business  man  would 
think  of  attempting  to  conduct  a business  without  keeping 
some  sort  of  daily  report  of  results  accomplished  so  that  he 
could  at  stated  periods  take  stock  of  his  progress  or  lack  of 
progress.  Yet  how  many  salesmen  are  content  to  dub  along 
year  in  and  year  out  getting  nowhere.  Why?  Because  they 
do  not  analyze  their  work.  They  do  not  try  to  find  out  why 
they  fell  down  in  this  sale,  or  why  they  were  able  to  make 
that  sale.  They  just  keep  stumbling  along,  muddling  through. 
Is  it  any  wonder  that  only  one  salesman  out  of  every  twenty- 
five  ever  becomes  a sales  manager?  Is  it  any  wonder  there 
are  a hundred  salesmen  making  thirty  dollars  a week  for 
every  one  making  fifty? 

If  you  can  give  your  salesmen  this  vision  of  self-develop- 
ment, of  growing  through  self-analysis,  which  is  the  only 
real  reason  for  having  reports,  your  problem  will  vanish  into 
thin  air.  There  are  few  salesmen  who  are  so  hopelessly  in 

[15] 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 


a rut  that  they  don’t  want  to  grow.  All  the  others  will 
welcome  an  opportunity  to  keep  books  on  themselves. 

It  should  be  kept  in  mind,  however,  that  a salesman  values 
his  reports  in  exact  proportion  to  the  valuation  you,  yourself, 
put  upon  them.  This  being  so  it  is  well  to  keep  a daily  record 
of  reports  received  from  each  man,  and  if  each  day’s  report 
is  not  promptly  received  mention  the  fact  to  him  in  your  next 
letter.  If  he  persists  in  f orgetting  point  out  to  him  that  he  is 
the  loser,  not  the  house.  An  excellent  way  to  keep  track  of 
reports  is  to  rule  up  a sheet  of  paper  into  thirty-one  vertical 
columns,  and  number  them  one  to  thirty-one,  omitting  Sun- 
days and  holidays.  Then  cross  rule  as  many  horizontal  col- 
umns as  you  have  salesmen.  List  the  salesman’s  name  in  a 
wide  column  to  the  left  of  sheet,  and  then  as  each  salesman 
sends  in  his  report  put  a cross  in  column  for  that  date 
opposite  his  name.  In  this  way  you  can  see  at  a glance  just 
how  each  salesman  stands  on  the  report  question. 


[16] 


VI— The  Salesman  Who 
Dissipates  His  Time 

IT  has  been  stated,  with  some  truth,  that  the  average  sales- 
man works  only  two  hours  a day.  That  is  to  say,  out  of 
the  usual  eight  hour  day,  only  one-quarter  of  it  is 
spent  face  to  face  with  the  buyer  actually  selling  goods.  As 
a matter  of  fact  a salesman  is  working  whenever  he  is  think- 
ing about  selling,  and  in  fairness  to  the  salesman  it  should 
be  stated  that  many  of  them  not  only  think  about  their  prob- 
lems all  day  long,  but  carry  them  home  at  night.  Neverthe- 
less, you  will  find  salesmen  in  every  organiation  who  could 
accomplish  a great  deal  more  if  they  systematized  their 
work. 

There  are  salesmen,  and  their  number  includes  some  of  the 
best  in  the  business,  who  crisscross  back  and  forth,  making 
a call  in  one  part  of  their  territory  and  then  doubling  back  to 
make  another  call  in  some  other  part  of  their  territory. 
Merely  wasting  one  hour  a day  in  this  way  means  a loss  of 
three  hundred  hours  a year.  If  that  lost  time  could  be  em- 
ployed in  the  presence  of  buyers  actually  selling  goods,  it 
would  mean  about  twenty-five  per  cent  added  effectiveness. 

If  you  have  men  on  your  sales  force  who  are  dissipating 
their  time  on  street  cars  or  on  trains,  and  in  zigzagging  from 
one  buyer  to  another,  doubling  back  on  their  territories,  it 
will  pay  you  to  send  these  men  a special  series  of  letters.  We 
all  use  the  follow-up  letter  idea  for  selling  our  product  to 
buyers,  but  we  seldom  stop  to  think  of  using  it  for  selling  an 
idea  to  a salesman.  Yet  where  we  stand  to  make  a dollar  by 
educating  a buyer,  we  stand  to  make  a hundred  dollars 
through  educating  a salesman. 


[17] 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 


Such  a campaign  might  consist  of  five  letters  which  could 
be  used  over  and  over  again  whenever  indications  point  to  a 
salesman  working  his  territory  unsystematically. 

Letter  No.  1 should  visualize  to  the  salesman  the  loss  of 
effectiveness  when  he  wastes  one-quarter  of  his  available 
time,  out  of  the  heart  of  the  day,  in  non-productive  effort. 

Letter  No.  2.  should  show  him  how  by  devoting  thirty 
minutes  every  evening  to  mapping  out  a plan  for  the  next 
day’s  work  he  can  turn  this  lost  effort  to  advantage. 

Letter  No.  3 should  show  him  how  to  lay  out  a plan,  the 
method  of  charting  his  calls  on  a map  of  the  town  or  city  in 
which  he  is  working,  and  then  arranging  his  call  cards  so 
that  he  can  go  up  one  street  and  down  the  next. 

Letter  No.  4 should  cite  several  instances  of  where  sales- 
men who  have  worked  their  territory  in  a haphazard  fashion 
have  been  able  to  increase  their  earnings  by  going  after 
business  systematically. 

Letter  No.  5 should  be  a letter  of  congratulations  which 
will  go  out  to  a man  as  soon  as  it  is  evident  the  previous 
letters  are  taking  effect  and  that  he  is  planning  his  work  and 
then  working  his  plan.  This  last  letter  should  lay  special 
emphasis  on  the  need  of  sticking  to  his  plan  regardless  of  the 
temptation  which  he  is  sure  to  feel  to  deviate  from  it  if 
things  don’t  seem  to  be  breaking  well  with  him. 


[18] 


VII— The  Man  Who  Is  Just 
Plain  Lazy 

AS  a general  rule  when  you  come  to  the  conclusion  that  a 
man  has  a lazy  streak  in  his  make-up  it  is  well  to 
^ ^ replace  him  at  the  first  opportunity.  But  before  doing 
so  consider  that  we  are  all  naturally  lazy;  that  it  is  a per- 
fectly human  failing.  Left  to  his  natural  inclinations  a man 
only  works  hard  enough  to  provide  himself  and  his  family 
with  common  necessities.  In  the  lower  strata  of  civilization 
this  condition  prevails.  The  reason  that  civilized  man  puts 
forth  more  effort  than  is  required  to  provide  the  bare  neces- 
sities of  life  is  his  pride.  He  wants  to  have  more  money  than 
the  next  man  so  that  he  can  buy  better  clothes,  drive  a better 
automobile,  own  a better  home. 

There  are  other  motives,  such  as  we  find  in  men  who  work 
for  love  of  their  country  or  love  of  humanity,  but  in  business 
the  great  controlling  motive  is  that  perfectly  human  desire  to 
get  to  the  top  of  the  ladder.  Consequently  in  writing  letters 
designed  to  move  a lazy  man  to  greater  effort  we  must 
assume  that  his  indifference  to  greater  achievement  is  lack 
of  desire  to  outdo  his  fellow  men.  We  must  plant  that  germ 
in  him,  and  keep  it  nourished.  By  increasing  his  wants,  we 
can  as  a rule  automatically  increase  his  efforts. 

The  pure  love  of  winning,  inherent  in  every  man,  can  be 
capitalized  in  letters  to  lackadaisical  salesmen.  Assume  in  your 
letters  that  the  salesman  is  a tail-ender  and  you  would  not 
expect  him  to  do  as  well  as  so-and-so  in  the  organization  who 
is  a real  go-getter.  Make  him  so  mad  that  he  says  to  himself: 
'Til  show  that  son-of-a-sea-cook  if  I'm  not  as  good  a sales- 
man as  he  has  in  the  organization.  I am  getting  fed  up  on  this 
‘poor  little  Willie'  stuff.” 


[19] 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 


One  clever  sales  manager  planted  the  desire  to  make  more 
money  in  the  heart  of  a man  whom  he  was  about  ready  to 
discharge,  by  getting  one  of  his  other  salesmen  who  owned  a 
beautiful  home  in  the  country  to  invite  the  lazy  salesman  and 
his  wife  to  dinner.  When  the  lazy  man’s  wife  saw  the  home 
that  other  salesman,  who  she  was  positive  was  not  half  as 
clever  as  her  husband,  had  built  out  of  his  commissions  she 
became  dissatisfied  and  prodded  her  husband  until  his 
business  almost  trebled  within  one  year. 

Lazy  salesmen  are  usually  shiftless.  They  spend  their 
money  almost  as  fast,  sometimes  even  faster,  than  they  make 
it.  Quite  often  by  getting  a man  of  this  type  interested  in 
some  plan  for  saving  money  you  can  develop  him  along  the 
desired  lines.  There  is  nothing  to  equal  the  saving  habit  and 
a growing  bank  account  to  keep  a salesman’s  nose  to  the 
grind  stone,  unless  it  is  a flock  of  youngsters. 

In  considering  this  matter  of  the  lazy  salesman  it  is  well  to 
bear  in  mind  that  there  is  no  such  a thing  as  a man  who  won’t 
work  if  the  motive  for  work  is  supplied.  If  you  doubt  this  all 
you  have  to  do  is  to  look  at  the  records  of  the  A.  E.  F.  Here 
we  find  men,  the  same  kind  of  men  who  compose  your  sales 
organization,  who  cheerfully  worked  like  Trojans  if  required 
twenty-four  hours  a day  for  what?  For  the  sheer  determina- 
tion to  win.  This  will  to  win  is  the  greatest  thing  that  is  in 
us.  Fortunate  indeed  is  the  sales  manager  who  can  resurrect 
that  spirit  in  the  heart  of  a salesman  who  doesn’t  care  much 
whether  school  keeps  or  not. 


[20] 


gmronr*',. 

FEB  17  1923 

VIII— When  a Salesman  Plays 
in  Hard  Luck 


0 sales  manager  will  admit  that  there  is  such  a thing 


as  “luck”  in  selling  goods.  He  is  not  inclined  to  sym- 


pathize with  the  salesman  who  comes  to  him  with 
any  hard  luck  story,  and  he  is  pretty  apt  to  remind  the  man 
that  if  he  had  his  way  about  it  he  would  spell  luck  with  a “p” 
before  the  “1.”  But  down  in  his  heart  he  knows  that  there 
are  times  when  the  pluckiest  salesman  simply  cannot  get 
business,  and  even  though  he  works  harder  than  ever,  and 
makes  more  calls  than  ever,  the  elusive  orders  are  not 
forthcoming. 

When  you  are  convinced  that  a man  is  really  trying  his 
hardest  and  that  his  lack  of  success  is  not  due  to  any  fault  of 
his  own  it  is  a big  mistake  to  ride  him  for  business  and  it  is 
equally  wrong  to  sympathize  with  him.  In  the  first  case  you 
will  probably  crumble  what  little  resistance  he  has  left  and  he 
will  blow  up  entirely,  and  in  the  second  case  you  will  verify 
his  own  impressions  that  there  is  no  business  to  be  had,  and 
make  him  feel  all  the  more  that  there  is  no  use  in  trying  to 
fish  when  the  fish  are  not  biting. 

A plan  used  by  one  notably  successful  sales  manager  when 
this  condition  develops  in  his  sales  organization,  is  to  keep 
feeding  the  men  special  letters  giving  them  concrete  sugges- 
tions for  going  after  business.  Sometimes  it  might  be  a letter 
to  the  man  suggesting  that  he  leave  the  city  territory  where 
conditions  have  been  hard  and  go  out  into  the  country  where 
the  resistance  is  less  pronounced,  and  the  buyers  easier  to  see. 
Or  it  might  be  a letter  advising  the  salesman  what  kinds  of 
business  can  best  be  sold  under  existing  conditions,  or  a few 
suggestions  taken  from  the  recent  report  of  a salesman 
getting  business  in  spite  of  conditions. 


[21] 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 


In  such  letters  it  is  very  important  to  always  assume  that 
the  business  is  there.  Point  out  that  people  are  still  getting 
married,  still  spending  20  per  cent  of  their  income  for  rent, 
50  per  cent  for  food,  and  whatever  it  may  be  for  the  thing 
you  are  selling.  Explain  that  there  is  no  reason  to  believe 
that  men  have  suddenly  stopped  buying. 

Also  make  it  clear  that  the  law  of  sales  to  calls  is  still 
working,  and  while  the  number  of  sales  that  follow  a given 
number  of  calls  may  be  a bit  higher  or  a bit  lower  from  time 
to  time,  it  still  follows  that  a salesman  who  makes  a certain 
number  of  intelligent  calls  will  get  a certain  number  of 
orders.  That  is  the  big  thing — to  keep  him  out  making  calls. 
If  you  can  do  that  sooner  or  later  he  will  break  the  spell, 
for  after  all  our  success  in  getting  orders  lies  more  in 
ourselves  than  outside  of  ourselves. 


[22] 


IX— The  Salesman  Whose 
Account  Is  Over-Drawn 

MUCH  of  the  trouble  experienced  with  salesmen  whose 
drawing  account  runs  away  from  their  sales  could 
be  eliminated  at  the  beginning.  Too  often  the  sales- 
man gets  the  impression  that  the  drawing  account  is  a sort 
of  guarantee.  Feeling  this  way  he  takes  it  for  granted  that 
in  the  event  of  his  leaving  your  employ  you  will  wipe  the 
slate  clean  and  call  it  even.  Naturally  he  does  not  worry 
about  the  debt  which  is  piling  up  against  him  on  the  books. 

Sales  managers  who  have  exceptionally  good  fortune  in 
keeping  down  losses  through  bad  drawing  account  credits 
report  they  always  make  it  clear  to  a salesman  at  the  time  he 
is  employed  that  all  advances  to  him  are  only  loans.  Impress 
upon  him  that  it  is  the  same  as  though  he  were  starting  in 
business  for  himself  and  borrowed  some  working  capital 
from  a banker  to  tide  him  over  until  he  could  begin  to  collect 
on  his  sales.  In  this  case  if  the  salesman  failed  to  sell  enough 
goods  to  repay  the  loan,  and  was  forced  to  wind  up  his  busi- 
ness, he  would  expect  to  repay  the  banker  — in  fact  the 
banker  would  require  him  to  sign  notes  and  would  force 
collection  at  the  first  opportunity.  You  do  not  require  the 
salesman  to  sign  any  notes,  but  you  certainly  do  expect  him 
to  consider  such  advances  as  you  will  make  to  pay  his  living 
expenses  as  a personal  loan  and  repay  it  in  the  event  of 
failure. 

If  the  salesman  is  given  this  impression  at  the  outset,  and 
in  the  letters  which  pass  while  he  is  making  good,  you  refer 
to  his  debt  as  the  money  already  loaned  him  it  will  make  a 
great  deal  of  difference  in  his  determination  to  fight  the 
thing  through.  One  of  the  large  insurance  companies  has 

[23] 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 


found  that  a man  who  is  down  and  out,  with  a family  to  feed, 
will  invariably  get  business  where  a less  determined  and  less 
decided  man  might  fail.  Of  course,  there  is  such  a thing  as 
making  a man  too  anxious  to  get  the  order,  and  there  are 
times  when  it  is  poor  tactics  to  make  a man  desperate.  But 
in  most  cases  the  iron  hand  within  the  velvet  glove  will  have 
the  greatest  effect  on  the  salesman  who  is  sliding  behind  and 
doesn’t  seem  to  worry  much  about  it. 

Little  is  to  be  gained  by  nagging  a man  who  is  sliding 
behind.  In  most  cases  he  feels  his  lack  of  business  far  more 
keenly  than  you  do.  He  thinks  about  it  all  his  waking  hours. 
You  think  about  it  only  once  in  a while.  So  don’t  pick  on  the 
man,  and  write  him  letters  about  being  disappointed  to  note 
that  his  account  is  steadily  getting  worse.  Decide  in  your 
own  mind  just  how  much  you  will  risk  on  him.  If  he  keeps 
falling  behind,  find  out  why.  If  it  can  be  corrected  go  the 
limit  in  an  endeavor  to  put  the  man  on  his  feet.  If  it  cannot 
be  corrected  then  the  sooner  you  break  off  the  connection 
the  better  for  you,  for  the  house  and  for  the  salesman.  But 
when  you  decide  to  behead  a man  do  it  quickly,  don’t  hack  it 
off  by  degrees. 


[24] 


X— The  Extravagant  Salesman 

A SALESMAN  who  spends  his  money  recklessly  usually 
spends  the  housed  money  in  the  same  open-handed 
fashion.  In  recently  analyzing  the  records  of  one  con- 
cern traveling  fifty  salesmen,  it  was  found  that  out  of  the 
fifty  men  ten  per  cent  traveled  on  $8  a day;  thirty  per  cent 
averaged  over  $9  and  sixty  per  cent  averaged  $10  or  better. 
These  figures  were  taken  over  a year's  period,  and  as  the 
company  divided  its  territory  carefully,  theoretically  each 
man  ought  to  have  been  able  to  operate  on  about  the  same 
over-head.  Yet  the  salesman  who  sold  the  most  invariably 
were  those  with  the  lowest  average  operating  expense.  This 
analysis  suggests  that  the  best  salesmen  are  usually  the  best 
managers,  and  refutes  the  claim  sometimes  advanced  as  an 
apology  for  an  excessive  expense  account  that  it  doesn't  mat- 
ter what  the  expenses  are  so  long  as  the  business  is  forth- 
coming. The  fact  is  that  there  is  little  relation  between  a 
man's  personal  selling  expense  and  his  volume  of  business. 

At  this  time  when  the  need  of  keeping  selling  expense  down 
to  the  very  bone  is  so  urgent  sales  managers  should  earnestly 
attempt  to  promote  the  economy  spirit  among  the  salesmen, 
and  this  can  be  done  most  effectively  by  an  occasional  letter 
complimenting  a salesman  on  a particularly  creditable  ex- 
pense account.  It  is  much  better  to  approach  this  problem 
from  a positive  point  of  view,  than  it  is  to  berate  a man  for 
spending  a few  dollars  more  than  he  should.  This  practice  is 
a relic  of  the  dark  ages  of  sales  management  when  the  sales 
manager's  job  was  “auditing”  expense  accounts.  In  those 
days  the  expense  account  was  usually  referred  to  as  the 
salesman's  swindle  sheet.  A salesman  figured  his  pay  as 
salary  plus  what  he  could  “save”  on  his  expense  allowance 
(allowance  meaning,  of  course,  what  he  could  get  away  with). 

[25] 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 


As  a matter  of  fact  much  of  the  padding  of  expense  ac- 
counts is  not  padding  at  all,  but  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
salesman  to  come  out  even  with  his  expense  money.  There 
are  innumerable  conscientious  salesmen  who  go  down  into 
their  own  pockets  month  after  month,  rather  than  to  put 
down  items  on  their  expense  account  which  might  give  the 
impression  of  padding.  No  concern  expects  a salesman  to 
pay  his  expenses  out  of  his  own  pocket.  But  every  concern 
expects  a salesman  to  spend  the  house’s  money  just  as  care- 
fully as  he  spends  his  own.  Further  than  that  it  expects  him 
to  keep  his  operating  costs  down,  just  as  it  expects  the  sales 
manager  to  keep  down  the  cost  of  selling  for  the  whole  busi- 
ness. And  when  a salesman  evidences  an  endeavor  to  do  this, 
he  should  be  complimented  and  encouraged  to  repeat.  In 
handling  this  matter  of  expense  accounts  you  can  catch  a 
great  many  more  nickels  with  molasses  than  you  can  with 
vinegar. 


[26] 


XI— He  Puts  the  Customer’s 
Interests  First 

DURING  the  seller’s  market,  now  passed,  sales  execu- 
tives had  little  to  complain  of  so  far  as  salesmen 
currying  favor  with  customers  was  concerned.  But 
now  even  the  best  men  are  guilty.  The  steadily  tightening 
competition  makes  the  salesman  very  anxious,  too  anxious 
perhaps,  to  please  his  customers.  When  a customer  suggests 
that  he  would  like  a better  discount,  or  that  he  would  like  to 
return  this  or  that,  or  do  something  else  which  the  salesman 
knows  perfectly  well  is  contrary  to  the  policy  of  his  com- 
pany, the  chances  are  he  will  say:  “I’ll  see  what  I can  do  for 
you.”  Then  he  prepares  his  brief,  making  out  the  very  best 
possible  case,  to  convince  the  house  that  by  letting  the  bars 
down  “just  this  one  time”  it  will  enable  him  to  hold  an  ac- 
count which  he  might  otherwise  lose.  Too  often  the  house 
listens  to  his  plea  and  gives  in  just  this  once,  only  to  find  that 
as  is  so  often  the  case  one  sin  begets  another,  and  the  first 
thing  you  know  the  whole  fabric  of  your  house  policy  breaks 
down. 

Unless  you  are  willing  to  go  back  to  the  bazaar  kind  of 
salesmanship  it  is  important  to  impress  upon  your  men  when 
you  find  them  inclined  to  ask  for  special  consideration  for 
this  or  that  customer  that  you  are  a one-price,  one-policy 
house.  Sell  them  on  what  it  means  to  them  to  work  for  that 
kind  of  house.  It  is  very  probable  that  the  customer  who  is 
asking  for  the  special  price  or  special  terms  prides  himself 
on  Ms  one  price  policy.  Even  if  he  does  not,  he  would  hardly 
admit  that  he  had  different  prices  for  different  customers. 
The  salesman  should  be  coached  to  meet  any  requests  for  a 
special  price  by  telling  the  customer  firmly  and  frankly  that 


[27] 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 


he  works  for  the  same  kind  of  house  that  he  imagines  the 
man  he  is  selling  represents.  He,  the  salesman,  would  not 
think  for  a minute  of  coming  into  this  buyer’s  place  of  busi- 
ness and  asking  him  to  sell  him  a ten  dollar  article  for  two 
dollars  less.  He  knows  without  asking  that  the  man  he  is  talk- 
ing to  would  not  for  a minute  be  so  unfair  to  his  other 
customers  who  in  good  faith  paid  him  the  price  asked  with- 
out quibbling.  In  other  words  a salesman  should  fight  back 
with  the  same  weapons  the  buyer  hands  him. 

A firm,  determined  stand  increases  the  respect  that  the 
customer  has  for  the  salesman  and  for  the  house  he  repre- 
sents and  even  though  he  might  lose  this  particular  order,  in 
the  long  run  he  will  profit  by  the  reputation  he  will  establish 
in  his  territory  for  being  a square-deal  salesman.  The  mo- 
ment a salesman  hesitates  when  asked  for  a special  discount 
it  weakens  him  just  so  much,  and  the  outstanding  reaction  in 
the  buyer’s  mind  is  that  perhaps  after  all  the  house  has  an 
inside  set  of  prices,  and  that  if  he  had  tried  before  for  a 
special  discount  he  could  have  had  it  all  the  while  he  was 
paying  the  full  price. 


[28] 


XII— The  Easily  Discouraged 
Salesman 

A WELL  known  sales  manager  rates  a salesman  accord- 
ing to  the  number  of  lickings  he  can  take  without 
showing  the  yellow.  He  finds  that  he  has  some  men 
who  can  go  out  and  work  for  days  at  a time,  getting  one  turn 
down  after  another,  getting  thrown  out  the  front  door  in  one 
place  and  smiled  out  of  the  private  office  in  another,  without 
“blowing  up.”  There  are  others  who  will  go  to  pieces  at  the 
end  of  a few  days.  And  the  great  majority  are  good  for  only 
about  ten  consecutive  turn-downs  before  they  cave  in.  It  is 
important  that  every  sales  manager  should  know  just  how 
many  orderless  days  each  of  his  salesmen  will  stand  without 
losing  his  punch.  Having  ascertained  this,  plan  your  letters 
accordingly. 

Quite  often  you  can  put  the  fight  back  in  a man  by  sending 
him  some  inspirational  literature  of  one  kind  or  another. 
Kipling’s  “If,”  printed  on  page  30,  is  an  excellent  thing  to  put 
into  the  hands  of  a man  who  is  discouraged  and  in  danger  of 
going  to  pieces.  It  seems  to  have  the  appeal  that  stiffens  his 
back-bone,  and  starts  the  red  blood  flowing  once  more 
through  his  veins.  It  makes  him  take  a firmer  grip  on  him- 
self, and  ask  himself  of  what  sort  of  stuff  he  is  made  anyway. 

One  very  successful  sales  manager  has  a form  letter  which 
a typist  writes  to  lists  of  names  in  territories  where  the  sales- 
men are  not  yet  hardened  to  the  discouragements  of  sales 
work.  These  letters  bring  back  leads.  The  sales  manager 
finds  that  by  sending  a salesman  occasional  leads  prevents 
him  from  going  too  long  without  an  order. 


[29] 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 


IF- 

If  you  can  keep  your  head  when  all  about  you 
Are  losing  theirs  and  blaming  it  on  you; 

If  you  can  trust  yourself  when  all  men  doubt  you, 

But  make  allowances  for  their  doubting  too : 

If  you  can  wait  and  not  be  tired  by  waiting, 

Or  being  lied  about,  don't  deal  in  lies, 

Or  being  hated  don't  give  way  to  hating, 

And  yet  don't  look  too  good,  nor  talk  too  wise ; 

If  you  can  dream— and  not  make  dreams  your  master ; 

If  you  can  think — and  not  make  thoughts  your  aim, 
If  you  can  meet  with  Triumph  and  Disaster 
And  treat  those  two  imposters  just  the  same: 

If  you  can  bear  to  hear  the  truth  you've  spoken 
Twisted  by  knaves  to  make  a trap  for  fools, 

Or  watch  the  things  you  gave  your  life  to,  broken, 

And  stoop  and  build  'em  up  with  worn-out  tools ; 

If  you  can  make  one  heap  of  all  your  winnings 
And  risk  it  one  one  turn  of  pitch-and-toss, 

And  lose,  and  start  again  at  your  beginnings 
And  never  breathe  a word  about  your  loss : 

If  you  can  force  your  heart  and  nerve  and  sinew 
To  serve  you  long  after  they  are  gone, 

And  so  hold  on  when  there  is  nothing  in  you 
Except  the  Will  which  says  to  them : “Hold  on !" 

If  you  can  talk  with  crowds  and  keep  your  virture, 

Or  walk  with  Kings — nor  lose  the  common  touch, 

If  neither  foes  nor  loving  friends  can  hurt  you, 

If  all  men  count  with  you,  but  none  too  much  : 

If  you  can  fill  the  unforgiving  minute 

With  sixty  seconds'  worth  of  distance  run, 

Yours  is  the  Earth  and  everything  that's  in  it, 

And — which  is  more — you'll  be  a Man,  my  son ! 

Rudyard  Kipling 


[30] 


XIII— The  Salesman  Who 
Nests  on  China  Eggs 

IN  selling  products  like  office  equipment,  automobiles, 
store  appliances,  special  services,  life  insurance,  stocks 
and  bonds  and  those  sold  on  what  is  sometimes  called  a 
one-sale  plan,  it  is  very  important  to  impress  upon  the  sales- 
man that  they  must  make  a certain  number  of  “lead”  calls 
every  day.  If  they  do  not  keep  adding  new  prospects  to  their 
list  they  will  soon  be  devoting  too  much  time  to  call-backs 
that  never  materialize.  As  time  goes  on  the  live  call-backs 
are  gradually  closed  up,  and  the  least  live  remain  until  even- 
tually a salesman  will  be  spending  two-thirds  of  his  day  try 
ing  to  hatch  out  nest  eggs,  as  one  sales  manager  puts  it. 

The  financial  depression  has  greatly  accentuated  this  prob- 
lem of  late.  It  is  easy  for  a salesman  to  convince  a man  that 
he  needs  the  thing  which  he  is  selling.  But  it  is  not  always 
possible  for  the  man  to  spend  the  money,  no  matter  how  well 
he  has  been  sold.  So,  caught  between  the  two  desires — to  have 
the  thing  and  still  retain  the  money,  he  “stalls”  the  salesman 
along.  The  more  he  stalls,  the  farther  the  salesman  usually 
gets  from  making  the  sale.  This  is  especially  true  when  the 
salesman  assumes  the  prospect  is  sold,  and  makes  no  further 
effort  to  sell  him  or  even  keep  his  enthusiasm  warm  on  his 
follow-up  calls. 

* When  a salesman’s  daily  reports  begin  to  show  too  high  a 
percentage  of  call-backs,  it  is  well  to  suggest  a “call”  quota 
of  some  kind.  This  plan  is  used  by  some  of  the  insurance  com- 
panies with  very  good  results.  Start  with  the  total  number  of 
calls  which  a salesman  in  the  particular  territory  involved 
should  be  able  to  make.  Say  for  example  you  decide  on  ten  a 

[31] 


/ 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 


day — some  make  as  high  as  thirty.  Out  of  these  ten,  four 
ought  to  be  missionary  or  cold  canvass  calls  for  the  purpose 
of  adding  new  prospects  if  an  actual  order  cannot  be  secured. 
Two  ought  to  be  “closing”  appointments,  one  of  which  should 
result  in  an  actual  sale,  and  the  other  four  could  be  follow-up 
calls  on  prospects  who  have  expressed  interest  but  for  one 
reason  or  another  would  not  buy  at  the  moment.  This  quota, 
in  selling  life  insurance,  has  been  found  to  yield  on  an  aver- 
age of  one  order  a day,  which  is  a fair  batting  average  in 
selling  a “not  wanted”  product.  This  quota  would  vary,  of 
course,  where  the  product  was  advertised  and  the  salesman 
was  expected  to  make  a lot  of  calls  on  advertising  inquiries. 
But  the  important  thing  is  that  it  constantly  keeps  in  front 
of  a man  the  necessity  of  making  new  calls,  of  constantly 
widening  his  prospect  list,  and  not  letting  it  go  to  seed. 

At  periodical  intervals  it  is  often  times  wise  to  totally  dis- 
card a list  of  call  backs  and  start  in  all  over  again.  One  of  the 
biggest  security  houses  in  the  country  built  up  its  business 
by  insisting  that  its  salesmen  never  make  more  than  two  calls 
on  any  one  man.  The  salesman  uses  this  fixed  policy  as  a club 
in  getting  immediate  action.  He  frankly  tells  his  prospect 
that  this  will  be  the  last  time  he  will  be  allowed  to  call.  If  the 
prospect  wants  to  see  him  again  he  will  have  to  call  him  up  on 
the  phone.  The  so-called  “one-call  and  qualification”  system 
of  selling  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  discovery  made  by  Sargent 
that  more  business  could  be  secured  by  a force  of  salesmen 
working  only  new  prospects,  than  when  most  of  a man’s  effort 
was  given  to  warming  over  cold  prospects. 


[32] 


•rosirr  bf  iir-T.  rrs 
FEB  17  1923 

XIV— Too  Big  to  Sell  Small 

Orders 

THIS  type  of  salesman  is  a hand-me-down  from  the  war 
boom  period  when  big  orders  were  the  rule.  Some  sales- 
nen  find  it  hard  to  adjust  themselves  to  operating  on  a 
falling  market  in  which  small  orders  are  the  rule  and  large 
orders  the  exception;  when  dealers  and  buyers  of  all  kinds 
are  operating  on  a hand-to-mouth  basis,  and  when  it  requires 
three  times  as  many  orders  to  make  up  an  equal  volume  as  it 
did  two  years  back.  When  you  find  a man  who  won’t  adjust 
himself  to  selling  under  existing  conditions  and  who  thinks 
he  is  too  big  to  work  on  little  orders,  he  should  be  subjected 
to  a special  series  of  letters.  If  that  doesn’t  do  the  trick  it 
may  be  well  to  encourage  him  to  put  out  a junior  salesman 
who  has  not  such  an  exaggerated  idea  of  his  importance, 
letting  the  salesman  pay  the  junior’s  salary.  Quite  often  if 
you  give  the  salesman  the  choice  between  getting  the  small 
orders  himself  or  hiring  someone  else  to  get  them,  good 
results  can  be  secured. 

An  effective  plan  for  impressing  the  importance  of  small 
orders  upon  salesmen  is  to  make  an  analysis  of  your  ledger 
accounts  and  use  them  as  a basis  of  several  letters.  These 
letters  will  develop  the  idea  in  the  salesman’s  mind  that  the 
big  customer  started  as  a small  customer,  and  so  it  must 
follow  that  it  is  from  the  small  customers  of  today  that  his 
big  customers  of  tomorrow  will  come.  If  you  take  about  a 
dozen  accounts,  which  started  in  with  you  on  a small  scale 
and  show  by  years  how  their  purchases  have  grown  it  will 
give  the  salesman  a new  vision  of  the  importance  of  dis- 
tributing business  among  the  greatest  possible  number  of 
good-will  units  in  his  territory. 

[33] 


XV— Handling  the  Big  “I” 
Salesman 

HE  is  one  of  those  fellows  who  never  thinks  of  talking 
about  “we”  but  it  is  always  “I  will  do  thus  and  so,” 
“I  will  take  care  of  you,”  “When  you  give  your  order 
to  me,”  etc.  He  works  on  the  theory  that  his  success  lies  in 
making  his  buyer  like  him — possibly  back  in  his  head  lies  the 
undefined  idea  of  getting  his  trade  so  well  “sewed  up”  that 
if  he  should  ever  leave  the  company  he  could  take  it  with  him. 
It  is  not  easy  to  handle  this  type  of  citizen,  and  it  is  espec- 
ially difficult  to  do  so  through  letters.  But  somehow  or  other 
he  must  be  made  to  see  that  the  biggest  thing  he  is  selling  is 
not  himself,  nor  the  house,  but  the  product  itself  and  most 
especially  what  that  product  will  do  for  the  man  who  is 
buying  it. 

A salesman  who  attempts  to  build  up  his  trade  on  a purely 
personal  basis,  and  get  business  on  the  strength  of  his  friend- 
ship is  treading  on  the  thinnest  of  thin  ice,  for  the  least  fric- 
tion that  arises  will  undermine  that  friendship  and  remove 
the  main  reason  for  securing  that  man’s  business.  The  best 
way  to  get  him  to  understand  this  is  to  prepare  form  letters 
which  can  be  copied  by  a typist  and  sent  out  occasionally  to 
the  man’s  customers.  Utilize  such  occasions  as  the  receipt 
of  a good  sized  order,  or  the  failure  to  send  in  any  at  all, 
as  excuses  for  writing  the  customer. 

One  wiley  sales  manager  cured  a man  who  was  inclined  to 
lean  too  heavily  on  the  perpendicular  pronoun  by  plotting 
with  a customer  in  the  salesman’s  territory,  to  give  the  of- 
fender a heart-to-heart  talk.  When  the  dealer  got  through 
with  the  salesman  he  was  cured  forever  of  the  “Great  I am” 
habit. 


[34] 


XVI— -The  Discontented 
Salesman 

DISCONTENT  in  a man’s  make  up  is  a trait  which  can 
be  turned  to  excellent  advantage,  and  is  in  no  sense 
the  failing  that  it  is  generally  supposed  to  be.  It  is 
far  better  to  have  a man  dissatisfied  with  things  as  they  are 
than  to  have  him  self-satisfied  and  in  a rut.  A discontented 
salesman  at  least  is  ambitious,  that  gives  you  the  handle 
with  which  to  take  hold  of  the  situation. 

There  is  a distinction  between  the  discontent  felt  by  a 
salaried  worker  and  that  felt  by  a worker  who  shares  in  the 
profits  of  his  work,  regardless  of  whether  such  profits  take 
the  form  of  commissions  or  a bonus  or  stock  holdings.  A 
salaried  worker  becomes  disgruntled  with  the  management 
as  a rule  and  he  is  more  resentful.  A salesman  picks  on  his 
territory.  If  he  is  not  making  as  much  money  as  he  would 
like  to  make  he  immediately  begins  to  think  how  much  more 
he  could  make  if  he  had  twice  as  much  territory.  You  see,  he 
measures  his  earnings  by  the  number  of  square  miles  in  his 
territory  as  a rule.  There  are  still  a lot  of  salesmen  whose 
dream  of  heaven  is  a territory  which  covers  the  whole  United 
States  and  most  of  Canada.  One  of  the  best  plans  to  convince 
a salesman  who  is  discontented  about  his  territory  that  what 
he  really  wants  is  less  instead  of  more  square  miles  to  cover, 
is  to  analyze  it  county  by  county  and  show  him  exactly  just 
how  much  business  he  can  get  without  going  outside  of  two 
or  three  counties  in  a territory  of  seven  or  eight. 

For  example,  such  figures  would  prove  to  a salesman  whose 
territory  comprised  Cook  County,  Illinois,  that  it  was  as 
large  from  the  standpoint  of  opportunity  as  seven  or  eight 
Western  States. 


[35] 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 


It  has  been  said  that  any  man  who  will  continue  placidly 
in  one  position  for  over  five  years  without  asking  what  the 
future  holds  for  him  is  a parasite  and  dead  wood  that  should 
be  weeded  out  of  the  organization.  Such  a.  man  has  stopped 
growing.  No  business  can  grow  faster  than  the  men  who 
make  it  grow. 

So  when  a man  wants  to  know  about  his  future  take  it  as 
a natural  expression  rather  than  an  indication  of  discontent. 
When  you  write  an  answer  to  his  letter  show  him  by  actual 
figures,  whenever  possible,  how  the  business  has  grown  over 
a period  of  years.  If  you  cannot  hold  out  any  definite  promise 
of  advancement  at  that  time  you  can  at  least  show  him  that 
even  though  it  may  seem  to  him  that  he  is  standing  still,  he 
is  in  reality  being  carried  forward  with  the  business.  He  is 
like  the  father  who  cannot  see  his  son’s  growth  day  by  day, 
but  when  he  looks  at  the  baby  photograph  he  is  brought  face 
to  face  with  a fact  that  otherwise  would  not  be  realized. 
Some  sales  managers,  who  handle  their  men  by  letter,  use  a 
small  graph  chart  on  which  they  trace  the  growth  of  the 
business  by  years.  This  is  enclosed  with  the  letter  to  be 
returned  by  the  salesman  after  he  has  studied  it.  Such  a 
chart  would,  of  course,  be  treated  as  a very  confidential 
document. 

Even  such  notably  successful  sales  organizations  as  the 
National  Cash  Register  Company  attach  great  importance 
to  keeping  their  salesmen  sold,  even  though  many  of  their 
salesmen  are  making  upwards  of  $15,000  a year.  A red- 
blooded  salesman  is  never  satisfied,  no  matter  how  much  he 
makes.  It  is  the  sales  manager’s  task  to  keep  him  sold  on  the 
future.  You  ought  to  have  heard  the  salesmen  applaud  when 
President  Patterson  said  at  the  last  convention:  “We  have 
only  scratched  the  surface.  Think  where  we  will  be  in  another 
twenty-five  years.” 


[36] 


XVI  I— The  Salesman  Who 
Thinks  He  Is  Underpaid 

WE  read  and  hear  a great  deal  about  business  interests 
liquidating.  Those  of  us  who  are  stockholders  are 
even  more  keenly  aware  of  the  great  period  of  defla- 
tion. But  how  many  of  us  stop  to  think  that  people  are  going 
through  the  same  thing.  They,  too,  find  it  hard  to  take 
smaller  earnings,  and  go  back  to  old  standards  of  living.  It 
is  not  surprising  that  they  raise  their  voices  against  so  doing, 
nor  is  it  surprising  that  salesmen,  especially  those  who  have 
the  big  money  habit,  should  feel  a bit  discontented  at  their 
present  small  earnings  when  they  are  still  living  up  to  1920 
standards. 

If  a salesman  should  give  you  any  inkling  of  discontent 
over  the  earnings  question,  it  might  be  well  to  confront  him 
with  figures  regarding  the  increased  purchasing  power  of 
the  dollar.  Just  at  present  it  has  a purchasing  power  of  some- 
where in  the  neighborhood  of  70  cents  compared  to  its  war 
boom  purchasing  power  of  around  forty  cents.  The  salesmen 
don’t  seem  to  realize  this.  To  them  the  dollar  is  the  same  old 
slippery  article  that  it  was  in  1920,  and  when  they  begin  to 
compare  their  1920  earnings  with  1921  earnings  they  think 
they  make  less  money,  when  as  a matter  of  fact,  if  the  propo- 
sition is  presented  to  them  in  the  light  of  buying  power,  they 
are  probably  making  as  much  if  not  more  money  than  they 
did  in  boom  times,  based  on  what  the  money  will  buy. 

Failure  to  understand  this  economic  fundamental  is  also  at 
the  bottom  of  the  complaints  we  hear  from  salesmen  about 
prices  not  being  in  line.  Sit  in  at  any  smoking  compartment 
post-mortem  on  business  conditions  and  you  will  surely  find 

[37] 


HANDLING  SALESMEN  BY  LETTER 


some  who  contend  that  if  their  company  would  cut  to  1914 
prices  all  would  be  rosy.  They  never  stop  to  think  that,  based 
on  the  buying  power  of  the  dollar,  present  prices  may  be 
considerably  below  1914  levels ! 

The  keep  price  competition  which  present  market  condi- 
tions are  developing  has  brought  with  it  a flood  of  merchan- 
dise of  all  kinds.  This  cheap  merchandise,  some  of  it  being 
made  here  in  this  country  but  most  of  it  of  European  origin, 
has  forced  many  weak  backed  manufacturers  and  sellers  to 
cut  prices  beyond  a profit  point.  Already  many  business 
houses  are  on  the  brink  of  bankruptcy  as  a result.  That  is 
one  reason  why  1921  failures  were  over  three  times  as  great 
as  they  were  the  preceding  year. 

The  man  at  the  head  of  the  business  sees  only  two  roads 
which  he  can  follow — the  road  of  the  price  cutter  which  leads 
to  financial  ruin;  and  the  road  of  quality  production  and  a 
quality  price  which  will  at  least  lay  the  foundation  for  bigger 
business  in  the  years  to  come,  even  if  it  means  a temporary 
loss  of  business  to  the  price-cutters. 

If  you  can  get  the  salesman  who  wants  lower  prices  to  see 
this  picture  you  will  have  just  as  strong  an  advocate  for  your 
quality  policy  in  the  field  as  you  have  in  the  office.  The  Dart- 
nell  salesman's  manual  “How  to  Sell  Quality”  is  especially 
designed  for  that  purpose  and  will  prove  most  helpful  in 
selling  the  quality  idea  to  salesmen. 


[38] 


XVIII— Carelessness  in 

Answering  Correspondence 

OUITE  often  you  can  convert  the  salesman  who  is  irreg- 
ular in  answering  your  letters,  and  generally  lax  in 
routine  matters,  by  turning  the  tables  on  him.  Ask 
him  to  suppose  with  you  for  a minute.  Ask  him  to  suppose 
he  had  called  on  a very  big  customer  and  the  customer  had 
asked  him  for  some  information  upon  which  the  order 
hinged.  The  salesman  was  leaving  town  that  night  to  keep 
an  important  engagement  with  a customer  in  the  next  town. 
He  wired  the  house  for  an  immediate  reply.  The  sales  man- 
ager received  the  wire,  but  he  didn’t  feel  in  the  mood  just  that 
minute  to  dictate  a reply  so  he  put  it  in  his  pocket  and  went 
out  to  lunch.  When  he  came  back  from  lunch  a friend  of  his 
was  waiting  in  the  office  so  he  didn’t  get  a chance  to  send  the 
answer  that  afternoon,  and  that  evening  he  had  an  important 
engagement  to  play  rummy  with  some  of  his  friends.  How- 
ever, the  next  morning  he  remembered  the  telegram  and  sent 
the  answer.  In  the  meantime  the  customer  had  placed  the 
order  with  another  house.  Ask  the  salesman  how  he  would 
like  to  be  treated  that  way,  and  how  he  would  feel  about  it. 
Then  remind  him  that  your  letters  to  him  are  just  as  impor- 
tant to  you,  as  his  letters  to  you  are  important  to  him,  and 
you  think  it  is  a poor  rule  that  doesn’t  work  both  ways. 

* * * 

There  are  other  salesmen’s  failings  which  could  be  covered 
in  this  report  but  these  are  the  most  common.  While  the 
methods  suggested  may  not  meet  with  your  full  approval, 
and  may  not  be  nearly  so  good  as  methods  which  you  your- 
self use,  we  hope  that  you  may  get  one  or  two  helpful 
thoughts  on  this  big  problem  of  building  men  that  will  be 
useful. 


[39] 


I 


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I 


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FIB  17  1923 


